Ruth Freson, American
Children Bathing in what Bhopal Residents call the Poison Pond near the Union Carbide Plant, 2004
The New York Times published this article in 2004 more than 20 years after the disaster that took place in Bhopal. The toxicity and degradation that impacted the area has yet to dissipate. The children playing in the “Poison Pond” photographed above are examples of the victims of not only the gas tragedy but of corporate war against disadvantageous communities. The images placed in this article are mainly of a new generation of the persons in Bhopal, but the tragedy still wreaks havoc for their communities. Hundreds of thousands of persons claim to have been injured or sick from the event. Generations later children are forced to play in a pond that has been ruined by corporate greed. The DOW chemical company likely never anticipated this tragedy from occurring, however, they did nothing to prevent it and certainly did not think of the affects their carelessness may have on the community. The juxtaposition of the children playing against the apocalyptic backdrop of the photo adds shock value to the unimaginable events that took place almost four decades ago. Label by Annabel Bentley